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<title>An Unquestioning Proposal by Akiko_Natsuko</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24805996">An Unquestioning Proposal</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko'>Akiko_Natsuko</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I Take Pride in What I Am 2020 [10]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fairy Tail</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, Love, M/M, Marriage Proposal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 01:21:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,085</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24805996</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“We’re getting married.” The words slip out unplanned, not a question, but a declaration and Orga’s honestly not sure which of them is more surprised as Rufus blinks at him. “Once everything has calmed down…”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rufus Lore/Orga Nanagear</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I Take Pride in What I Am 2020 [10]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1771147</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>I Take Pride in What I Am 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>An Unquestioning Proposal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Please note that if you want to talk to me about my fics and writing, or anime/shows/games in general then you can now find me on discord  <a href="https://discord.gg/6sSddAWa5c">The Unholy Trinity</a>.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They had survived.</p><p>    Orga had never been one for calculating the odds or worrying about losing. He knew his own strength, knew how strong Rufus and the others were, trusted them in a way he had never thought possible. Yet today, that thought shivered in his chest, because they almost hadn’t… If he rolled his shoulders, he could still feel the ache and pull from having been strung up on the cross, although it was lost amongst the other aches and pains from the fighting and followed if he didn’t focus it. But now his thoughts had drifted back to that moment, the awful taste of fear and defeat in his mouth once more, he couldn’t help but turn around and look for Rufus standing with the others, smiling as they watched the Exceeds reunite with their Dragon-slayers, and his breath caught.</p><p>He hadn’t been able to protect him.</p><p>    He knew Rufus didn’t need protecting, that the other was just as strong as he was, if not stronger in his own way. He’d made the mistake of forgetting that once before, and Rufus had quickly set him straight. It had been one of the biggest arguments in their time together. Which was really saying something, because for as well as they worked together and how close they had allowed themselves to become since Jiemma was removed, he still managed to push the other man’s buttons far more often than he meant to. It didn’t stop him from wanting to keep him safe though, and this time he hadn’t been able to. His fingers itched, remembering how desperately he had tried to get to Rufus back then, forgetting about the rest of the fight, about saving himself, unable to see anything but Rufus going down.</p><p>     He’d betrayed himself, made it all worse, and been rewarded with having to watch Rufus being strung up on the cross right in front of his eyes. If he closed his eyes, he could still see it. Could still, remember the icy terror that had wrapped itself around his heart when Rufus had been so still, head falling forward to rest against his chest, making it impossible for Orga to tell if he was still alive. It didn’t matter that they’d all shared the same fate, that not one of them, or all of them together had been able to stop it from happening, all he could see was Rufus in that position and Orga unable to stop it.</p><p>     Rufus met his gaze then, tilting his head slightly in question at whatever the hell was showing in Orga’s expression right then, the smile – something that came so freely these days – dimming a little, and Orga didn’t want to imagine what his face was showing right then. <em>Rufus tied up, too still…don’t be dead, don’t be dead…</em> The fear was fading, eased by the celebrations going on around them, the laughter and joy washing it away. However, it couldn’t erase the memory, or just how close it had been, or the growing, swelling realisation that Orga could have lost of him.</p><p>The tremor that came at the thought of a life without Rufus…</p><p>    He doesn’t remember moving, skirting through their friends and around Rogue who is spinning around with Frosch, the pair clinging to one another. Minerva turns and looks as though she’s about to say something to him, but then she pauses, and there’s an odd look in her eyes as she steps back instead, clearing his path to Rufus, and he’s reasonably sure she whispers something to Yukino as he passes. He doesn’t care. All he can see is Rufus. Still, smiling and watching him approaching with a welcoming expression that still takes his breath away after all this time. Alive and breathing, albeit bruised and battered from all the fighting, and Orga’s eyes trace the darkening bruise on one cheek, the cuts littering his arms.</p><p>Still, a vision…</p><p>“Rufus.” It feels like the only thing he can say at that moment, closing the last of the distance between them and reaching for his partner, hands built for destruction, gentle as he grips the other man’s shoulders. Warmth. Rufus is warm, and alive, smile giving away to confusion, but he follows willingly when Orga tugs him away from the others. Not far, because he doubts any of them want to be apart at the moment, but just enough to give them the illusion of privacy, as he lifts his head and meets Rufus’ gaze and promptly forgets everything he’d wanted to say. If he’d even known in the first place.</p><p>“Orga?” Rufus gives him a couple of minutes, before reaching up to grip the hands that are still holding his shoulders, not trying to push him away, but squeezing lightly.</p><p>“We’re getting married.” The words slip out unplanned, not a question, but a declaration and Orga’s honestly not sure which of them is more surprised as Rufus blinks at him. “Once everything has calmed down…” He amends but doesn’t take it back. He can’t. It’s not the first time he’s thought about proposing – if he could even call it that – it’s been there in the back of his mind for quite a while. Still, he had never found the words, or it hadn’t been the right time, or he had heard the whispers and bets of their guildmates that had put money on it being Rufus who would be the one to pop the question. It takes him a moment to realise that he hasn’t had a reply, and not sure what to do he released Rufus, shaking off his partner’s grasp and took half a step back.</p><p>“So, no proposal just a ‘we’re getting married’?” Rufus asked once he had been released, but there was a smile on his face and a softness in his eyes, that told Orga that he wasn’t in trouble. Still, he fidgeted a little, because he knew it wasn’t the kind of proposal his partner deserved or even the one he had been considering for so long, and he tugged at his hair before asking quietly.</p><p>“Do you need the question?”</p><p>“No,” Rufus’ voice is just as soft and quiet, and he’s the one that closes the distance between them. “I suppose I don’t.” He leans in and kisses a surprised Orga, short and sweet, before looking up at him and seeing the lingering hesitation and a hint of confusion, a hint of a smirk in his smile. “That was a yes, Orga…”</p>
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